ITALIAN GRAND PRIX - 9th September 2007

In a mirror image of the finish in Turkey,
McLaren overwhelmed Ferrari at their home Grand Prix taking a
straight one-two.

In the first of two back-to-back races, next
week the F1 circus moving to Spa in Belgium, the winner
Fernando Alonso's weekend was pretty much
flawless:

"To win at Monza for the first time is very
special. Sometimes everything goes in the right direction; this
weekend was one of those times and we were able to keep up the
momentum. My start wasn’t perfect, and I had to defend my lead
coming in to the first corner. In the second corner I was a bit
worried as I thought Lewis and I would touch but fortunately this
did not happen. The safety car could have caused us a few problems
as it was important for our strategy to open up a gap as soon as
possible. However it was a perfect afternoon today with the car and
the team working really well, and to win in front of the
enthusiastic Italian Formula 1 fans is very emotional."

Second placed Lewis Hamilton also seemed
content:

"Obviously I didn’t get the best getaway and
Felipe managed to shoot past me. I outbraked both him and Fernando
into Turn One, and I almost thought I was going to get past, but
then Felipe clipped me and sent me over the second chicane. I was
suffering vibrations on my tyres in the first stint, so I opted to
pit earlier to play it safe. Once we knew that Kimi was on a
one-stop strategy it was key to really optimise my second stop.
Unfortunately I came out behind him, but I knew I was faster on the
new tyres, if only for a couple of laps, and so I just took the
opportunity when I caught him up. It was really important for me to
get that place back, not only for my position in the Championship,
but also for all the team. We had the 1-2 in qualifying yesterday,
and to maintain this in the race was the icing on the cake. They
have all done a fantastic job."

An emotional Ron Dennis,
clearly with his mind now turned to this week's "spying" trial,
said:

"We always want to win and to have McLaren’s
first one-two at Monza today is really special. The entire team has
done a fantastic job both on and off track in difficult
circumstances, and our dominance this weekend is a just reward for
all their efforts. Fernando and Lewis put in excellent performances
and controlled the race from the front. Lewis, overtaking manoeuvre
to reclaim second place showed his determination. We now focus on
the week ahead and the race at Spa next weekend."